TOEFL IBT Listening Practice Test 14 Solution & Transcripts

TOEFL IBT Listening Practice Test 14 Transcripts

TOEFL IBT Listening Practice Test 14 Solution

LECTURE 1-6

Listen to part of a lecture in an American history class.

Professor: The question often asked is why the United States did not enter World War II until 1941 and why It waited until after it had been attackedby Japan. To find the answer, we’ve got to go all the way back to World War I and even farther back to GeorgeWashington. Our first president advisedthe nation to avoid foreign entanglements, and, for our first century, we were quite adeptat doing so. It was not until the Spanish American War at the end of the nineteenthcentury that America’s interests were earned abroadby force of arms. The Spanish American War turned America into an imperialpower with the acquisitionof the Philippines, Cuba, and other Spanish territories.

The first years of World War I were boom years for Amencan industry, as we supplied massiveamounts of material for the waning nations. Most went to the Allied side since our hearts were really with them. Many Americans went to Canada or England to join their fighting armiesand to look for adventure, but our armed forces stayed home. But the war wouldn’t let us stay out for long. German submarinesbegan sinking ships, ships carrying Americans and American cargo. Despite the protests of our government, the sinking continued. The Germans knew they were provokingus to go to war, but our army was small and far away and would have to cross a massive ocean full of their submarines to reach the battlefieldsof Europe. Well, we did declarewar on Apnl 6,1917, rapidly expanded our military, and rushedour men to Europe, losing very few to those German subs. Many historiansagree that America tippedthe balance in favor of the Allies and ensured victory in 1918.

Then came the backlashin the 1920s. Amenca was tricked into the war by the British and French, said many. American industrialists earned massive profits from the blood of American men dying in Europe, said more. The theme of the greedywar profiteertook root and was hard to shake. A whole movement grew, known as isolationism, which called for America to remain out of world affairs unless threateneddirectly. The military was restricted by a minusculebudget. America failed to ratify the Treaty of Versailles, the treaty Germany was forced to sign in 1919 to end the war, and America refused to join the League of Nations.

These were great blows to the structure of world peace. It was obvious to all that America had been the decisivefactor in defeating the Central Powers in World War I. Without the support of the United States, the League of Nations lackedthe power to enforcepeace. One may look at the United Nations today and say the same thing, even with American support. But it was this lack of support in the series of crisesleading up to the outbreak of war in Europe in 1939that had the most profoundinfluence. Hitler provoked a series of crises with the British and French, with both nations backing down time and again, fearfulof another war without American help.

As this was happening in the late 1930s, the United States passed a series of laws known as the NeutralityActs. These forbade the United States from selling weapons to nations at war and stated that all strategicmaterial, such as oil or steel, had to be paid for in cash and shipped on the purchasingnations’ own ships. In addition, no American citizen could book passageon a ship of a nation at war, and America would not lend money to any waning nations. This last one was in response to the lack of repaymentfor the many loans America gave in World War I.

When war did break out in 1939, President Roosevelt wanted to help the British and French, but his hands were tied by the isolationistmovement and Neutrality Acts. In order to get around them, he enactedLend-Lease, which allowed America to lend military supplies to the Allies with payment to be made in the future. Lend-Lease barelypassed the debate in Congress. The next step was to begin a peacetimemilitary draft, basically forcing men to do militaryservice, an unprecedentedaction in American history. It too barely passed into law in 1940. Roosevelt wanted to join the war against Germany, but it was impossible. When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor in December 1941, there were calls for a war against Japan only. Fortunately for the world, Hitlerstupidly declared war on America, supposedlybecause of Germany’s treaty with Japan. In fact, he did Roosevelt a big favor. When British Prime Minister Winston Churchillheard that America was in the war, he slept soundly for the first time during the war. He later wrote that he knew then that the Allies would win the war.

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CONSERVATION 7-11

Listen to part of a conversation between a student and a professor.

Professor: Jason, I’m so glad that you droppedby. I wanted to speak with you for a few minutes about your paper that you turned in last week.

Student: Oh, sure. Was there something the matter with it?

Professor Uh, actually, yes, there was. I think that you must have read the directions wrong or something because you turned in a report on a topic that we won’t even go over until next month.

Student Oh my goodness! Surely you can’t be serious?

Professor Oh, I would never joke about something like this. Your astronomy report looked at the effects of a lunareclipseon the Earth. However, if you would kindly take a look at this syllabushere, you’ll notice that we don’t even cover eclipses until next month. To be frank, I’m not sure where exactly you got the idea for this paper.

Student: You know, when I was writing it, I had the feeling that there was something strange going on. I haven’t missed a class all semesterlong, so I knew that we hadn’t studied eclipses yet.

Professor: So, how did you come to write about them in your report?

Student: Well… It’s actually a little embarrassing, but I suppose that I should tell you. You see, I lost my syllabus on the first day of class, and I was too, uh, you know, shy to ask you for another one. So I’ve been relying uponone of my friends to tell me what our assignmentsare. He must have, uh, played a joke on me or something.

Professor; Not much of a friend, is he? I think that you might need to reconsiderthat friendship of yours. Anyway, it seems that, although you are, technically, at fault, I shouldn’t penalizeyou because another student opted to tell a lie to you. For that reason, I’m not going to give you a zero on this paper.

Student: Oh, thank you so much, sir.

Professor: I am also going to give you another chance to rewritethis report. Now, the topic that you should have written your paper on is the moonsof Saturn and how some of the major ones vary quite differently from one another.

Student Wow. That really is different from what I wrote about. You must have been extremelyshocked when you started reading through my paper.

Professor That’s the understatementof the year. Anyway, I shall give you four days to submitthis report. Today is Thursday, so I want this report on my desk no later than noon next Monday. Do you think that you can handleit?

Student: Oh, yes, sir. I’m positive I can do that report now that I know exactly what the topic is. I’m so pleased that you’re giving me a second chance. A lot of professors wouldn’t do that.

Professor. Well, I try to concernmyself with what is best for my class, not others. Oh, Jason… One more thing.

Student: Yes, sir?

Professor. Don’t ask your friend for any more advice. I don’t want you writing about something completely off the wall next time.

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